Machine gun cartridge belt



Sept. 6, 1932. FRENCH 1,876,216

MACHINE GUN CARTRIDGE BELT Filed April 30, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Sept. '6, 1932. G. F. FRENCH MACHINE GUN CARTRIDGE BELT Filed April 50, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Sept. 6, 1932 enofnen rnEnnRIe-K Fniincn,

armame t, ENGLAND -MAGHINE dun cAnrnineE BELT a ication filed April to, 1'931,"Seria1 1To. 534,082, and in Great Britain Ma '6, 1930.

--"1 -his-inyention refers to cartridge belts, either 0i the all-woven, or built-up fabric and strip type, tors-small or large calibre quick-firing guns. The al'hwoven cartridge belts are usually composed of -two thicknesses of material in-- terwoven witheach other at intervals, the intermediatefree parts forming the necessary pockets and the walls of the pockets consisting-hf a single thickness and projecting equally on both sides of the belt when the pockets are filled with cartridges Fur.- ther,:the pockets are tapered inthe process of-weaving in order thatithey shall closely fit as and grip the cartridges.

The .material is woven .in single straight Built-up belts arecomposed oftwo separate lengths of woven material held together at intervals by metal strips, the ,free portions of the material forming the pockets.

lengths, with one edge turned over a cord andzstttched llOWIl to form a beaded selvedge.

In this-type of belt one end of each pocket is smaller than theother owing. to the cord? ed or headedselvedge. V V i W-th ei her construction of belt the insertion of a cartridge by known vmechanical means is difficult and slow, -further, the allwoven belt if made straight becomes curved when f-uhly ioadedwith cartridges. Again,

the built-up belt, while sometimes slightly curved by reasonof the beaded selvedge, is liable to beacurvedin an opposite direction When fullyloaded. In each'case the curvais objectionable, for-several reasons,but mainly because (1) it interferes with a straightdine feed of the beltthroughthe filling machine and throu h the feed block of the machine gum-and it interferes with the compact nesting of the belts in the usual ammunition boxes. Moreover, any'forcing of a filled curved belt into the straightto permit of packing, stretches the pockets at their wider ends with consequent slackening of the grip on the cartridges.

- The main objects 'ofthe'invention are (1) which; permit of easy and rapid filling, which will be straight-from end to end when fully loaded, which will be stronger and r less liable tostretch when'in use than the known makes of belts, and (4) will allow of being packed in the usual ammunition boxes without distorting thepockets.

:.According to theainvention, thebelt (alh woven-or built-up) is formed. on the edge in which .the narrow (bullet)"-" ends of the pockets lie, with an openrended channel or gutter, the two thicknesses of thebelt along such edge being left free, and collectively producing a selvedge of Y or \/:section. a

' The said free parts of the s'elvedge may be formed with corded or beadededges, and

the other edge of the belt may be similarly corder or-beaded, the corded-or beadededges at the narrower ends of the pockets being larger than the corded orbeaded edge at the wider ends. The saidcordedorbeaded edges help to guide the belt as passes through v the filling machine',ror.machinegun feejd b-l0c'k,--and the larger beads form shoulders by which the beltis held against lateral move,- ment' during the initial opening of the pockets.

-, To cause the beltto'bestraight after being fully'loaded with; cartridges, the belt (or its webs) is; (or are). made to :a curved formation, the larger ends of the can tridge pockets being on the convexedgeof the belt ,and the degree of. curvature being such that contraction. of the convex edge of the belt caused by the .widerqends of the cartridgeswill equal theiamount necessary for effecting thexstraightening of the belt when fully loaded. The walls of the belt pockets 1 may. each'be woven to a single thickness, or to a double (tubular) ;thickness,in the latter case the two thicknessesbeing uni-ted by binding warp threads, or byltheir own warp threads. In the accompanying drawings I Fig. '1 isa plan view of a portion ofan allwoven cartridge. belt-made according to the invention and as it appearsprior to being filled with cartridges. Fig. 2 is av plan view of thesame Fig. '3' is an enlarged cross section of the belt shown in Fig. 2, on line 3+.3, and a Fig. 4 is anenlarged cross section of the same belt online I I ba t a it appears after being filledwith cartridges. to provide belts of the kind referred to, w

thicknesses of the belt are left free, thereby iii producing an open-ended channel or gutter, the said free parts collectively producing a Y or V;shaped selvedge, see Figs. 3 and 4...

The edges of such free parts are preferably corded or beaded by weavingtherein a cord or extra warp threads, the efiect of'such-formations beingto allow' (a) for the effective initial opening of the pockets'when being filled with'cartridges, to preventlateral displacement of the belt when a cartridge-is being withdrawn, and (0) to help in levelling the'belts when stored inthe usual ammunition boxes; 'The convex edge of the belt, in which the case ends of the cartridgeslie, may

7 also be corded or beaded to help inpreventing lateral displacement while being filled with cartridges, and while a cartridge is being extracted. a e The curving of the belt, or its thickness, is effected in the process ofweaving by employing one or moresets of warp threads, and means whereby certain warp threads are taken up (or supplied) at a different rate than the other warp threads.

In one example, see Figs. 5 and 6, three sets of warp threads are used, 1, 2,3,also a conical take-uproller 4, (the warp threads being independently tensioned) so that the. warp threads 1 engaging the wider endof the roller 4, shall move forward at a slightly quicker rate than the warp threads 2, and similarly, the warp threads '2 shall move at a slightly 'quickerrate than-the warp threads 3.

Y A second and reversed conical roller 5 may be used,the belt passing between and being gripped by the rollers. In each of the rollers 4 and 5, may be grooves (as also in the breast piece) to accommodate the corded edges of the belt H In another example, a singleset of warp threads are drawn from a conical drum,

Y whereby the warp, threads are delivered to the loomat slightly varying rates, thus causing the belt or belt webs to'be' curved on leaving the loom. In this case a'conicalftake-up roller will also be used,the. larger end of the roller being opposite the larger end of the drum. I l 1; v

In the case of a built-upbelt, using metal strips 6 to connect the two webs together-at intervals, the said strips will only extendnear to the shoulders formed by the larger beaded edges of the belt, the other ends of the strips extending on to the smaller-beaded edgesas imam the belt, see'right hand end strip in Fig. j By reason of the strips 6 'extending'only near shown in Fig; 7. In place of pairs of strips (one strip on each side-of the belt), a single long U-shaped strip may be used, the bend of the strip passing around the convex edge of to the shoulders of the largenbeaded edges,

theydo not close-in. the o enin the)! or V shapedselvedge. v

The walls of the pockets ofthe allwoven belt" are preferably tubular 'and additional warp threads are used to bind the two thickness'e's of each-wan together, the said threads also serving to bind the main webs. together where required, although they maynot be so used, the webs. then. being .interwoven' with each other "at such points;- :The shaping-ofthe pockets will be efiected inthe usual way during the process of weaving. g

The webs of the built-up threads along oneiedg'e of thebelts; V 1

Two shuttles wil-l-Qgenera'lly be s ed for the allewoven belt, one for ,:each wa'llfas shown in Fig.5:- Y Y 7 i The formation of'the edge of the'beltin belt'mayalso be made. tubular and iunited"bybindingwarp threads Y The pockets may be shaped' b'yathe V metalstrips ti or (and) byaextra orthicker which the'narrow. lendsof =the. pockets are formed toa Y or V section isimportant, in

that it greatly facilitates the initial opening of-the pockets when being filled with car- I tridgesQ/ The curving of the belt in the process of weaving is alsoimportant, in that itaensures of the belt when" fully loaded being straight from .endnto end, and thus "better adapted Y to pass through the belt filling-'machineQand the feed block ofthe 'machine guni And,

by forming the walls of'ithe belt poc'lrets of double" thickness and binding "same, a Fm'uch stronger and less'stretc hableand less distort v able belt is provided.- I

What I'claim is A cartridge belt having'two free nsses'T at intervals producing yopen-end-ed Y pockets for cartridges, the pockets :being narrower at one end than the other, and said belt being of curvedfformationf longitudi nally and along the edge in whichfthe n'ar rower endsof-the pockets lie having free 'selvedges, producing a continuouschannelg 1 orgutter, as se trforth'. Y I

2; A cartridge beltasclaimedinclaim wherein the edgesof the belt are corded ,jas V 7 set forth.

3. .A cartridge belt ctmpb edbilwethicjk I nesses -of woven material, each having alon- 'gitudinal curvature, an'dnietal strips and rivets fasteningthe two .thicknesse'sof woven material; together at intervals, the; intervening parts of the thicknesses being left free and-forming tapered pockets, and said metal strips at one end passing around that .edgeof the belt in which the wider ends of the pockets lie, and extending to a point near the other edge of the belt, which is provided with continuous loose, beaded selvedges, as set 1 '5 forth. d V

' In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

GEORGE FREDERICK FRENCH. 

